Title: A visualization instrument to investigate the mechanical-electro properties of high temperature superconducting tapes under multi-fields

Abstract

We construct a visible instrument to study the mechanical-electro behaviors of high temperature superconducting tape as a function of magnetic field, strain, and temperature. This apparatus is directly cooled by a commercial Gifford-McMahon cryocooler. The minimum temperature of sample can be 8.75 K. A proportion integration differentiation temperature control is used, which is capable of producing continuous variation of specimen temperature from 8.75 K to 300 K with an optional temperature sweep rate. We use an external loading device to stretch the superconducting tape quasi-statically with the maximum tension strain of 20%. A superconducting magnet manufactured by the NbTi strand is applied to provide magnetic field up to 5 T with a homogeneous range of 110 mm. The maximum fluctuation of the magnetic field is less than 1%. We design a kind of superconducting lead composed of YBa2Cu3O7-x coated conductor and beryllium copper alloy (BeCu) to transfer DC to the superconducting sample with the maximum value of 600 A. Most notably, this apparatus allows in situ observation of the electromagnetic property of superconducting tape using the classical magnetic-optical imaging.

Key Laboratory of Mechanics on Disaster and Environment in Western China Attached to the Ministry of Education of China, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, People’s Republic of China and Department of Mechanics and Engineering Sciences, College of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000 (China)

@article{osti_22597881,
title = {A visualization instrument to investigate the mechanical-electro properties of high temperature superconducting tapes under multi-fields},
author = {Liu, Wei and Zhang, Xingyi, E-mail: zhangxingyi@lzu.edu.cn and Liu, Cong and Zhang, Wentao and Zhou, Jun and Zhou, YouHe},
abstractNote = {We construct a visible instrument to study the mechanical-electro behaviors of high temperature superconducting tape as a function of magnetic field, strain, and temperature. This apparatus is directly cooled by a commercial Gifford-McMahon cryocooler. The minimum temperature of sample can be 8.75 K. A proportion integration differentiation temperature control is used, which is capable of producing continuous variation of specimen temperature from 8.75 K to 300 K with an optional temperature sweep rate. We use an external loading device to stretch the superconducting tape quasi-statically with the maximum tension strain of 20%. A superconducting magnet manufactured by the NbTi strand is applied to provide magnetic field up to 5 T with a homogeneous range of 110 mm. The maximum fluctuation of the magnetic field is less than 1%. We design a kind of superconducting lead composed of YBa2Cu3O7-x coated conductor and beryllium copper alloy (BeCu) to transfer DC to the superconducting sample with the maximum value of 600 A. Most notably, this apparatus allows in situ observation of the electromagnetic property of superconducting tape using the classical magnetic-optical imaging.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4955443},
journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
number = 7,
volume = 87,
place = {United States},
year = 2016,
month = 7
}

Alloys of Nb/sub 73/Al/sub 12/Si/sub 14.5/B/sub 0.5/ were rapidly quenched using the melt spinning technique to form fine amorphous ribbons. These were then annealed into A-15 tapes with a variety of grain sizes. The smaller the grain was the more flexible the tape and the higher the critical current density J/sub c/. The best results were obtained for a tape with a grain size of 15 nm; it could be bent to a diameter of 1 mm without breaking and it had a J/sub c/ of 3.3 x 10/sup 10/ A/m/sup 2/ at a magnetic field of 20 T.

A grain-structure model is used to obtain the low-temperature transport properties of polycrystalline Bi-based high-temperature superconducting tapes, including the magnetic-field-dependent critical current. The grain structure is regarded as resembling a brick wall, such that the net horizontal supercurrent passes from brick to brick chiefly through the horizontal junctions between bricks. A high-field critical-current plateau is predicted, assuming inhomogeneous Josephson junctions between highly anisotropic superconducting grains.

We present the designs of probes for making critical current density (J{sub c}) measurements on anisotropic high-temperature superconducting tapes as a function of field, field orientation, temperature and strain in our 40 mm bore, split-pair 15 T horizontal magnet. Emphasis is placed on the design of three components: the vapour-cooled current leads, the variable temperature enclosure, and the springboard-shaped bending beam sample holder. The vapour-cooled brass critical-current leads used superconducting tapes and in operation ran hot with a duty cycle (D) of ∼0.2. This work provides formulae for optimising cryogenic consumption and calculating cryogenic boil-off, associated with current leads usedmore » to make J{sub c} measurements, made by uniformly ramping the current up to a maximum current (I{sub max}) and then reducing the current very quickly to zero. They include consideration of the effects of duty cycle, static helium boil-off from the magnet and Dewar (b{sup ′}), and the maximum safe temperature for the critical-current leads (T{sub max}). Our optimized critical-current leads have a boil-off that is about 30% less than leads optimized for magnet operation at the same maximum current. Numerical calculations show that the optimum cross-sectional area (A) for each current lead can be parameterized by LI{sub max}/A=[1.46D{sup −0.18}L{sup 0.4}(T{sub max}−300){sup 0.25D{sup −{sup 0{sup .{sup 0{sup 9}}}}}}+750(b{sup ′}/I{sub max})D{sup 10{sup −{sup 3I{sub m}{sub a}{sub x}−2.87b{sup ′}}}}]× 10{sup 6}A m{sup −1} where L is the current lead's length and the current lead is operated in liquid helium. An optimum A of 132 mm{sup 2} is obtained when I{sub max} = 1000 A, T{sub max} = 400 K, D = 0.2, b{sup ′} = 0.3 l h{sup −1} and L = 1.0 m. The optimized helium consumption was found to be 0.7 l h{sup −1}. When the static boil-off is small, optimized leads have a boil-off that can be roughly parameterized by: b/I{sub max } ≈ (1.35 × 10{sup −3})D{sup 0.41} l h{sup ‑1} A{sup −1}. A split-current-lead design is employed to minimize the rotation of the probes during the high current measurements in our high-field horizontal magnet. The variable-temperature system is based on the use of an inverted insulating cup that operates above 4.2 K in liquid helium and above 77.4 K in liquid nitrogen, with a stability of ±80 mK to ±150 mK. Uniaxial strains of −1.4% to 1.0% can be applied to the sample, with a total uncertainty of better than ±0.02%, using a modified bending beam apparatus which includes a copper beryllium springboard-shaped sample holder.« less